House-door letter-box



2 Sheets-8heet 1.

(No Model.)

G. M. SHINNV. HOUSE noon LETTER. BOX.

No. 448,086. Patented Mar. 1.0, 1891.

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G. M. SHINN. HOUSE DOOR LETTER BOX.

No. 448,086. Patented Mar. 10,1891.

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[,7 W QOCM 1TB gTATES GEORGE M. SHINN, OF NElVTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOUSE-D00 R LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,086, dated March10, 1891.

Application filed January 6, 1891. Serial No. 376,773. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Gnonen M. SHINN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLetter- Boxes, of which the following is a full speci- 'fication.

My invention consists of an improved letterbox especially adapted forfacilitating both the collection and distribution of mail over postalroutes in such a manner that a single letter-carrier on each route mayreadily collect as well as distribute mail-matter. To this end the boxesof my improved construction are applied to doors along the mail routes,all boxes on each route capable of being locked and unlocked on theoutside by a single key carried by the mail-carrier. The box is soarranged that when locked it is open 011 the inside of the door andserves as a receptacle for letters and papers for the mail. Theletter-carrier unlocks the box, opens it, removes the contents, which hetransfers to a portion of his bag containing matter for mailing,

' places the letters and papers which are to be delivered to theoccupants of the house within the box, and finally closes and looks it,going through the same operations all along his route. The box is,moreover, preferably provided with a bell or gong, which isautomatically rung by the operations of locking and unlocking, thusnotifying the occupants of the house that the postman is at the door,and serving also as a burglar-alarm in case of any one tampering withthe box from the outside. I furthermore preferably provide each box withan indicator visible on the outside thereof for the convenience of theletter-carrier. Vhenever any one from the inside places letters orpapers in the box for mailing, he so sets by hand this indicator, thatit shows on the outside that there is matter for collection in the box.By this means the carrier sees at a glance as he passes along the routewhether the boxes are empty or not, thus saving him both time andtrouble in unlocking and examining empty boxes on houses where he has nomail for delivery. The indicator is so arranged that the operation ofunlocking the box automatically moves back the indicator into theposition for showing an empty box.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional viewthrough the box and the portion of the door to which it is ap plied, thebox being in a locked position and the section being taken in the planeof w x, Fig. 6. Fig. 2 is a View of the front plate and adjacent parts,as seen from the outside of the door. Figs. 3 and 4 show theindicatorplate in its two extreme positions. Fig. 5 is a sectional viewof the box shown open in position for access by the postman, and Fig. 6is a rear View of the box.

A is the material of the door to which the box is applied,being providedwith the opening a, through which the top and front of the letter-boxprotrudes and in which the box slides or rolls in opening and closing. 9

B B are the sides, B the back, and B the front, of the box, the back Bbeing preferably perforated, as shown in Fig.5. This box is of peculiarshape, as shown, its top being curved or rounded over practically atright angles with the body of the box, the under surface-b of the curvedtop forming, preferably, the are of a circle, which rolls onfasuitably-shaped seat at the bottom. of the opening which contains it.

At the front and back of the doorA are respectively placed the front andrear frameplates E E, which are bolted or screwed to the material of thedoor around the opening a. As herein shown, the plates'E E are held bybolts L, passing through the material of the door and held by nuts L onthe inside.-

The frame-plates E E are preferably provided with the inwardly-curvedflanges 9 6 respectively, which correspond to the curve I) on theletter-box, and form a seat over which said letter-box rolls or slidesin being opened and closed, as will readily be understood by referenceto Figs. 1 and 5.

The body of the mail-box is secured in front to the plate D, which restsagainst the frame F. and closes the opening therein when the box isclosed; The top of the body of the box isopen at 12 andthrough thisopening or mouth the mail-matter is introduced into too and removed fromthe box, this opening being directly in front when the box is in theopen horizontal position shown in Fig. 5.

F is a fastening-plate screwed or otherwise fixed to the back of thefront plate D. In this plate is firmly secured the post 0, the

inner end of which is screw-threaded and bearsagain'st the back of thebot-tom portion.

of said frame E, as in Fig. 1. the materialof the door being recessed,as at C6 (L in which recesses the top and bottom of the locking bar areheld when the box is locked. The central portion of the lockin g-bar Iisrecessed to fit the locking end of the key, and when once the key isinserted therein the bar may be turned with the key. By turning saidloeking-bar out of engagement with the frame E the box is unlocked, andit may then be rolled out into the horizontal position shown in Fig. 5,using the key as a handle.

P P are two washers, preferably of. rubber orsome soft material to actas'a' cushion, held by screws P on the sides B of the box in such aposition as to prevent the box from being rolled ont farther than intothe st'ibstantially horizontal position shownin' Fig. 5. \Vhen thislimit has been reached these cushioning washers or' stops rest againstthe inner frame E. V V p The bottom 13 of the box is preferably hingedin such a manner that it may open, as indicated by the dotted lines inFig. 5, and spring back into place when pressure is removed. To this endb is a rodpassing' through the entire width of the box, the'bottom B4being hinged on this rod and held normally in a closed position by meansof the spring 19 embracing said rod. Any desired arrangement ofspring-hinge may be employed. The

use of this spring-flap at the bottom of the box is to' enable thecarrier to insert papers anddocumen'ts'of unusual length intothe box,said papers simply protruding at the bottom and being held by thepressure of the fiapB tending to. close itself.

The hell 0, attached to' its po'st C, is rung automatically by lockingand unlocking the box. 7

In Fig. 6 I have shown the bell removed so as to clearly show themechanism that operates it. p V ,H is the hammer of the bell, connectedby the rod h With the vibratorF'. Thisvibraior is pivoted on a pinf,fixed in the fasteningplate F. The free or outer end of this vibrator Fis bent down at f intothe slot f in the plate F, in which slot the endof the vibrator moves up and down. I is the section of a ratchet on thelocking-bar I, the teeth of which ratchet engage with the hen t-down endf of the Vibrator F as the locking-bar turns.

8 is a spring which tends 'to pull the free end of the vibrator inward,being secured to the post 0 and to the vibrator: The construction andarrangement are such that when the locking-bar I is turned bythe key-as,for instance, in .the process of unlocking the boxthe ratchet-teeth Iengaging with the end of the vibrator, together with the spring 5. causethe hammer to ring the bell' in the manner readily apparent withoutfurther description. The bell is thus rung both on locldng and unlockingthe box, and the inmates of the house are thu s notified of the resenceof the postman at the box.

The indicator which shows the postman whether or not the box is emptywithout his opening the same consists, as herein shown, of a plate G,fixed to turn on a spindle G, passing through the material of the door.This plate G rests against a dial portion E preferably integral withthe'fra'me E and projecting upward from the top thereof. This dialportion is provided with one or more openings g, while the pl'ate'G hascorresponding' spotsg painted or otherwise fixed on the surface thereofin some conspicuous color or colors, as black or red, and so placed thatwhen the movable plate G is in one of its extreme positions, as in Fig.3, the spots g thereon will coincide with the openings 9 in the dialportion E and be visible from the outside. When, however, the movableplate is in the other position, (shown in Fig. 45,) the spots '1 are notvisible. These spots g may, if desired, be painted with luminous paint,thus being visible in theda'rk.

G is a handle fixed to the inner end of the spindle G on the inside ofthe door. hen this handle is in its uppermost position, (shown. by thefull lines in Fig. 6,) the m'ovable plate is in the position shown inFig. 3, with the spots thereon opposite the openings g. WVhen the handleG is in the positionindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 6, the movableplate is, in the position shown in Fig. 4, with the spots thereon hiddenby the'dial portion E (See also Fig. 2.) g and g are stops against whichthe handle G bears when in its extreme positions.

The movable plate G is provided with a shoulder g which, when the box islocked and the said plate set in the position indicated in Fig. 3, (sothat the spots are visible from the outside,) rests against the top partt' of the locking-bar I, the said movable plate being in the same planeas the locking-bar. hen, however, the box is unlocked, the locking-barin moving pushes against the'shoul- IIO der 9 and turns the plate G onits axis into the position shown in Fig. 4.

When matter to be mailed is placed in the box from the inside, theperson doing so simply turns the handle G2 into the upward positionshown in Fig. 6. Thisindicates to the postman the fact that there issomething in the box. \Vhen he unlocks the box to open it, the movableplate is turned back automatically by the operation of unlocking, asjust described, into the position which indicates that the box is empty,and the indicator so remains until again set by hand.

The bell and its operating mechanism is normally kept covered by theperforated slide B which moves in the guides 13, and which may, whendesired, be removed. This perforated slide when in place serves as acontinuation, as it were, of the front 13 of the body of the box, beingespecially convenient when the box is in the open horizontal positionshown in Fig. 5.

The front plate D is useful, as forming a convenient name-plate on thedoor and as a place for the street-number.

\Vhile I have for convenience described my letter-box as applied to adoor, I do not limit myself to this construction, as any wall or supportmay be used in place of the door.

I have herein shown, and preferably employ, a curved seat at the bottomof the opening, through which the box rolls. The seat need notnecessarily be curved, however.

The carrier is provided with a' key fitting all the boxes on his route.He first inserts the key in each box, turns it, thus unlocking the box,and rolls it down from the vertical to the horizontal position, usingthe key as a handle. He thus removes the mail left in the box forcollection through the mouth If, then in front, and places therein themail for the inmates of the house, after which he rolls back the boxinto the vertical position, looks it and removes the key. The lockingand unlocking operations ring the bell automatically in the manneralready described. The spring-flap B aside from its use of allowing longarticles to be pushed through the bottom and held, is also useful whenthere is more mail for the'house than the box can contain. In this casethe postman simply presses the excess of matter through the bottom ofthe box past the spring-flap, whence it falls to the floor on theinside. The box when in its closed vertical position may, moreover, beeasily emptied by simply pressing open the springflap, allowing the mailto fall out at the bottom by gravity.

I claim 1. As a new article of manufacture, a movable letter-box havingits top curved over substantially at right angles to the body thereofand provided with a receiving and delivering mouth, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with a door or suitable support provided with anopening, of a letter-box having its top curved over substantially atright angles to the body thereof and movable within said opening,substantially as described.

3. A letter-box having itstop curved over substantially at right anglesto the body thereof and provided with a mail receiving and deliveringmouth, in combination with a door or support provided with an opening,and having a seat over which the box isadapted 'to slide or roll withinsaid opening, substantially as described.

at. A letter-box provided with a receiving and delivering mouth andhaving its top curved over substantially at right angles to the bodythereof, the under surface of the curved top forming practically the arcof a circle, in combination with a door or suitable support providedWith an opening through which the box is adapted to roll from a verticalto a horizontal position, and afront plate secured to the body of thebox, whereby the opening is closed When the body. of the box isvertical, substantially as described.

5. A letter-box having its top curved over substantially at right anglesto the body thereof and provided with a receiving and delivering mouth,in combination with a door or suitable support provided with an openingthrough which the box is adapted to slide or roll and having suitablelocking-recesses, and a key-operated locking-bar pivoted within said boxand engaging in said recesses, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a door or suitable support provided with anopening a and recesses a d of a front frameplate E, a letter-box movablewithin said opening and frame-plate, a front plate D, secured to saidletter-box and adapted to close over said frame-plate, and akey-operated locking-bar pivoted within said letter-box and engaging insaid recesses a (0 substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The combination, with a door or suitable support provided with anopening, of front and rear frame-plates E E, provided withinwardly-curved seat-forming flanges e a and aletter-box having its topcurved over substantially at right angles with the body thereof andmovable over said flanges and within said opening, substantially asdescribed.

8. A letter-box having a key-operated locking-bar pivoted therein andprovided with ratchet-teeth, a bell-hammer, a vibrator connected withsaid hammer and operated by said ratchet-teeth, and a bell arranged andoperating substantially as described.

9. A movable letter-box provided with a key-operated locking device, incombination with a'door or suitable support provided with an openingWithin which the box slides, and

an indicator automatically operated by said IIO In Witness whereof I-have hereuntoset my hand.

GEO; M. S'H-I-NN.

'Witnesses.

E. H G'ILMAN; ALBERT E. LEACHE

